Keyhole illuminator



Dec. 1, 1953 c. I. BLACKBURN ET AL 2,561,417

KEYHOLE ILLUMINATOR Filed June 20, 1949 INVENTORS cHARuas I. BLACKBURN and. KENNETH H. PERC Patented Dec. 1, 1953 KEYHOLE ILLUMINATOR Charles I. Blackburn, Hudson, and Kenneth H. Percy, Twinsburg, Ohio, assignors to John B.

Hudak, Twinsburg, Ohio Application June 20, 1949, Serial No. 100,108

9 Claims.

This invention relates to a light fixture of the type employing small candle power and adapted to illuminate a small area such as on the outside of a doorin thevicinity of a keyhole. In such an arrangement the light remains, at all times, in the position of its intended use and the need for carrying a flashlight about and all attendant difiicultics are avoided.

Keyhole light fixtures have been proposed in the past but these, for the most part, have been constructed along lines similar to the common flashlight as to switches and circuit arrangements, which leave much to be desired in the matter of faithful performance in an installation over long periods.

It is, therefore, an object of the invention to provide an electric light fixture for illuminating small areas in which the wiring is simplified to a high degree. A further object is to provide such a device in which a single electrical connector may be employed, the connector also constituting a switch operable by flexure of the fixture housing. Yet another object is to provide a light fixture which is easy of assembly and which compactly houses the lighting elements and retains them without the necessity for extraneous fasteners.

These and other ends will be apparent to those skilled in the art from the description of a preferred embodiment of the invention set forth in the following specification and illustrated in the drawings, in which:

Fig. 1 is a front elevation of a portion of a door including the keyhole with the illuminator fixed in place,

Fig. 2 is a section on the line 2-2 of Fig. 1, and

, Fig. 3 is a view taken on the line 33 of Fig. 2.

Referring to the drawings by characters of reference, there is shown, in Fig. l, a portion of a door i with a lock escutcheon 2 having a door knob 3 and a keyhole 4. The illuminator, shown generally by the numeral 5, is fastened to the door by two screws 6. may be secured in any convenient position relative to a keyhole.

The casing or housing 7 of the illuminator may be formed in a single piece, preferably from a stock of thermosetting plastic or the like. The rear face of the housing is recessed at 8 to accommodate a dry cell 9, which may be of the small type or so-called pencil light batteries. The recess 8 is preferably rounded on its innermost side or trough to accommodate the cylindrical dry cell and is slightly greater in length than the dry cell employed.

Obviously, the illuminator Beneath recess 8 is a second recess ill somewhat smaller than recess 8, having also a curved trough whose axis of curvature is aligned with that of the trough of recess 8. A bore II, in the bottom of housing 7, communicates with recess l0 and its center is aligned with the said axes of curvature of the troughs. The recess in accommodates the metal base l2 of a small lamp, the reduced, glass bulb l3 of which extends into the bore I! but, preferably, does not extend beyond the outer rim thereof. The base I2 of the lamp may be threaded or not, threads being unnecessary but not objectionable.

A single metal strip Hi of phosphor bronze or the like, having a springiness and long life under flexing, has a hooked portion IS on one end which is fitted within the space of recess 8 above the dry cell 9 and serves, by spring action, to hold the dry cell in close electrical contact with the inner end of lamp base l2 by spring action while,

at the same time, making electrical contact with the upper end of the dry cell. It is to be noted that the terminus P5 of the hooked portion, when in place, lies well within the recess 8 so that its contacting edge bites into the Wall of the recess and locks the strip against accidental removal when the assembly is not mounted on a structure. The natural burr which occurs when the strip is sheared improves this result. At its lower end the strip It has a portion with a bent tab [6 which normally extends outwardly of the housing and the free end of which is spaced from lamp base I2. 011 contacting metal base i2, the free end of tab 16 completes the circuit to light the lamp.

The manner in which strip I4 is flexed to light the lamp is an important feature of the invention. It will be noted that rear face i! of the main housing I of the illuminator is spaced somewhat outwardly from the rear face l8 of the thin portion 19 through which the fastening screws 8 are applied. Thus the housing 1 as a whole may be swung toward the door 8 by fiexure of the narrow neck at 20, when pressed, as by a thumb, indicated in broken lines in Fig. 1. The inner position of the front face of the housing is indicated by the broken lines in Fig. 2. Such movement brings the tab Hi into contact with the door i and, thereafter, with lamp base !2 to complete the circuit. A relatively light touch of the finger tip is suificient to cause the required flexure at neck 20 and the circuit is broken on removal of the finger pressure.

It will be seen that there has been thus provided an illuminator which is simple and economical of manufacture, application, and maintenance, and one which is well adapted for outdoor exposure. The switch arrangement is of the utmost simplicity, combining the entire circuit wiring and switch in a single element and, further, utilizes a structural feature of the illuminator casing, together with the structure to which the device is attached for its actuation. These features make possible a combination affording great ease of assembly and efficient operation.

While a certain preferred embodiment of the invention has been shown, it will be understood that this is for purposes of illustration and that various changes may be made in the size, shape and arrangement of the various parts, without departing from the spirit or scope of the .appended claims. For instance, whereas the 110115- ing has been shown as fabricated in one piece, obviously the offset surface It could be provided by superimposing, on an unstepped surface, a Shim or the like. Also, instead of a dry cell, the power could be supplied from a step-down transformer such as those used for doorbells.

It is to be noted that the illuminator is peculiarly adapted for fixation to a structure and is unlike the common varieties of portable flashlights in its open condition on the rear face, which renders its use while carried about impractical. On the other hand, when used as a fixture, the arrangement of the elements is possible, and an organization results which is quick and easy of assembly without extraneous fastening means-and in which replacement of batteries is a simple matter.

What is claimed is:

1. An illuminator comprising a housing having a portion, on one end only, adapted for attachment to a structure, the main body of said housing being offset from said portion whereby to be movable toward said structure by flexing the material of the illuminator, a lamp carried by said illuminator, a source of electric potential in said illuminator, and switch means controlling the flow of electricity to said lamp and normally open but being accessible to said structure and closing by movement of the main body of said housing toward said structure.

2. For use as an illuminator, a housing having a main body portion with stepped recesses in a rearward face for accommodation of electric power means and lamp means, and a through bore communicating with said recesses for emis sion of light, and an integral extension on one end only adapted for attachment to a structure,

said latter portion having a rearward face offset from the first-mentioned rearward face whereby the said main body portion may be flexed about the said integral portion to operate a switch by contact with the said structure.

3. An illuminator for keyholes or the like comprising an elongate housing having a main body with a flat rear face, and an integral, longitudinal extension, on one end only with a flat rear face parallel to the rear face of the main body and offset rearwardly therefrom, said main body having recesses opening into the rear face thereof and adapted to hold electric power means and an electric lamp, and having a through opening for passage of light from said lamp, said main body being flexible about the region joining it with the said extension whereby to operate a switch means against the structure to which the housing is attached.

4. An illuminator comprising a housing having recesses in one face accommodating a source of electrical power and a lamp with two terminals,

and combined switch and wiring means comprising an electrical conductor of springy material having a doubly bent portion engaging between one terminal of the source of power and a wall of the recess, and having a portion normally spaced from one of the lamp terminals, and a portion extending outwardly of the said one face, said housing having a portion, at one end only, with a face outwardly offset from said one face, whereby said one of said lamp terminals may be moved into contact with said conductor by fiexure of said housing with respect to said extending portion.

5. An illuminator comprising a housing having recesses in one face accommodating a source of electrical power and a lamp, and combined switch and wiring means comprising an electrical conductor of springy material terminating in a hooked portion engaging between one terminal of the source of power and a wall of the recess, the free end of said hooked portion engaging said wall obliquely whereby to resist withdrawal of said hooked portion from said recess, and said conductor having a portion normally spaced from one of the lamp terminals, and a portion extending outwardly of said one face.

6. An illuminator as in claim 5, said housing having a portion, on one end only, with a face outwardly offset from the said one face, whereby said housing may be moved relatively to said conductor by flexing with respect to said portion.

7. An illuminator comprising a housing for a battery, a lamp, and switch means, said housing having an extension, on one end only, adapted for attachment of said housing to a structure, and said extension being laterally, outwardly offset from one side of said housing, whereby said housing may be moved toward said structure by fiexure of the material of the housing between said housing and said extension.

8. An illuminator comprising a housing for a battery, a lamp, and switch means, said housing having an open face adapted for lateral insertion of a battery into said housing, and having an extension, on one end only, adapted for attachment of said housing to a structure, said extension being laterally, outwardly offset from said face of said housing, whereby said housing may be moved toward said structure by flexure of the material of the illuminator between said housing and said extension.

9. An illuminator comprising a housing permanently open on one side with an opening of a size adapted for lateral insertion of a battery into said housing, an integral, offset portion of said housing extending from one end only of the open side of the housing, a lamp in said housing, and a switch for said lamp normally open and extending outwardly through said open side, and movable in a direction into and out of said open side.

CHARLES I. BLACKBURN.

KENNETH H. PERCY.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 2,011,692 Simpson Aug. 20, 1935 2,166,282 Benjafield July 18, 1939 2,304,690 Herder Dec. 8, 1942 2,375,511 Wood May 8, 1945 2,483,820 Falge Oct. 4, 1949 2,529,234 Swanson Nov. '7, 1950 

